It starts with an ill conceived radio show. Megan Chase is a respected psychologist, as well as a psychic who uses her talents to help her patients without their knowledge. In order to stop a colleague whose practices she despises from becoming the psychology voice of radio, Megan takes a job as a radio host, which advertises her as a demon slayer. Understandably enough, the personal demons–small demons that encourage people to make bad choices and commit crimes–are a little threatened by what they view of as a declaration of war. But Megan is unaware of the world of demons, beyond her own psychic abilities, and so when she is approached by a mysterious (and sexy) figure who offers her help, she doesn’t know why she’ll need it, or why she should trust him. As it turns out, mysterious and sexy is Greyson Dante, who is also a demon, but is determined to keep Megan safe, whether she wants his help or not.

Attacked by zombies and feeling threatened by a fellow psychologist who seems to thrive on the fear of his patients, Megan accepts Greyson’s help reluctantly, finding herself drawn to the demon as more than just a protector. Accompanied by three guard demon bodyguards–a lovable trio of brothers who become completely devoted to her–Megan tries to maintain what has become her normal life, juggling interviews for a local paper about her radio job with the demands of the partners at her practice, who think her radio persona is a danger to their reputation. She also realizes she has to learn to better control her ability if she’s going to survive, and finds a prickly mentor in Terra, a local witch and law enforcer for the magical community. Lurking behind all her desire to take control of her talents and her life is a blocked series of memories from a time when she was a teen, accused of murder. It’s only through piecing together how those events impact her current situation–and her relationship with the personal demons–that Megan can keep herself alive.

Stacia Kane writes a fast-paced, action-oriented plot while still drawing a lot of the motivation from her characters. Told in the third-person, but almost entirely from Megan’s point of view, the narrative delves into Megan’s past as slowly as she does, and the revelations there bring the plot together. The characters range from appealing to endearing, with quirky behaviors that sometimes make them seem bristly, but help them fit together to form a whole cast. But what might work best in the narrative is the way the characters fit into the world; many urban fantasy novels have hidden worlds that the protagonists are thrust into, but the mixture of myth and a mafia-feel in the structure of the demon world that Kane creates has real appeal. The world becomes another character, with motivations that have to be figured out, rather than just a backdrop setting. Overall, with light scares and steamy romance, Personal Demons is a fun read, well worth picking up.

11 Tales of Ghostly Horror

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